Bhopal, February 12 Over 25,000 civilian employees working with defence establishments across Madhya Pradesh reported to work an hour late on Thursday in support of the nationwide trade union strike, the All-India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF) said.
The day-long strike is being observed to protest against what the unions described as anti-worker, anti-farmer, and anti-national policies favoring corporations, promoted by the central government.
More than 25,000 civilian workers posted at six ordnance factories in the state, the 506 Army Base Workshop, the Central Ordnance Depot, and Military Engineer Services reported for duty an hour late as a mark of protest, AIDEF president S N Pathak told
"We could not observe a complete day-long strike because defence production and related work fall under the category of essential services," he said.
Instead of reporting at 8 am, the workers started duty at 9 am, Pathak added.
Workers affiliated with different unions were seen protesting and raising anti-government slogans at some places across Madhya Pradesh.
The joint forum of central trade unions that has called for the strike claimed that around 30 crore workers have been mobilized for the agitation.
Their immediate demands include the scrapping of four labour codes and rules, the withdrawal of the Draft Seed Bill and the Electricity Amendment Bill, and the "Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act".
The unions are also demanding the restoration of MGNREGA and the scrapping of the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. The joint forum includes INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.
